I’ve noticed an interesting MR-related behaviour over the years, and I was wondering if it’s just me, or if anyone else acts like this as well.
What I’ve noticed is that during times when I can’t work on my layout, I tend to spend more in terms of purchasing rolling stock/building kits/etc, yet when I’m actually able to work on the layout (e.g. university holidays), I don’t feel as compelled to make as many purchases. I think this may be a result of a need to feel like I’m ‘making progress’ on the layout.
Oh, that’s WONDERFUL to hear. I mean it! [:P] Yes, there are days (weeks) when the weather is such that I really cannot get out to my ‘uninsulated’ garage layout to work on it, and yes, I tend to haunt the two LHS’ in my area picking up ‘stuff.’ Not necessarily for a future project, as much as just: “Stuff.”
Then, when the weather gets so that I can actually go out and do some work on the layout, I suddenly realize that what I really NEED to do, I’ve actually BOUGHT during the ‘down-time’. It’s either on my workbench or under it still in the bags, LOL! But sometimes I forget. And I go to the LHS and get duplicate “Stuff” for the project.
Scenery’s my worst. I stock up on scenery material during the Winter, and come Spring, I always end up with so much scenery material that I’d need at least another addition to my ‘empire’ in another two-car garage to actually USE it all. But does that stop me? NOOOOOOOO—[:I]
If my particular area of California would quit having Winter, and I could go out to my garage every day, my hobby-shop bill would be one HECK of a lot lower, LOL!
That phenomemon has a simple explanation, if you are building toward a specific, quantifiable goal. On those occasions when I couldn’t build a layout (the quarters a married junior enlisted person can afford seldom have any surplus space) I filled in holes in my roster (which has been set in stone since 1964) by buying and assembling (or kitbashing) rolling stock.
When I was actively building a layout, either my own or some club’s, the rolling stock acquisition/construction activity went into partial or full hibernation. I’d rather run trains, or build the place(s) where trains will run, than simply collect rolling stock.
I have been fully retired and busy on my ‘last in this lifetime’ layout for five years. In that time I probably have spent less on rolling stock (RTR, kits and parts) than I used to spend every two months or so. Most of my rolling stock effort has been directed at giving pre-operations checks to old reliables being placed in service after years of residing in boxes.
So, my behavior was quite similar to yours. We do what we can do to keep interest up, but the final goal is an operating railroad where all that rolling stock can find a home.
In my case I think that occurs because I have only so much time for the hobby. If I’m not working on the layout I can go to shows, hobby shops, surf the net for bargains, etc. When I’m working on the layout I’m not doing those things. Since I don’t have time for both, doing one causes the other to suffer. My preference is working on the layout, but I don’t always have one. Right now I’m in the middle of moving from our home of 30 years to our retirement home - so I’m actually tearing down the current layout and salvaging materials for the next one. Since I’m not retired it’s taking a while. Shows are a nice break from that, I just try to focus my purchases for the “big one” I’ll build in retirement.
And without the psychological “hand wringing”, there is a very practical outgrowth of this behavior.
I figured out a long time ago that many model railroad products are made by small one-man basement companies. These folks get older like everyone else and then sometimes the product is no longer generally available. Even for the large manufacturers, things are produced in “batches” that may never be re-run. A clear “vision” of one’s completed model railroad, or at least some good definition as to era/location is needed to keep from going broke at the hobby shop, but if one sees a product that really FITS the layout, perhaps it should be purchased before it goes out of production.
One thus develops a shelf, or a drawer, or a couple shelves and drawers of unassembled kits that (presumably) fit the vision. Over time, many of these products will become rare, but they are still good kits. In tight economic times, including reduced income at retirement, those kits still await and all one has to purchase to build them is perhaps some new glue, paint, or paint brushes (low cost). It’s an investment in the future and a hedge against products you like becoming unavailable.
See, its all very practical and rational! There’s no quirks or oddities involved! We’re all sane!
I remember a french model railroader called it the “hamster syndrome”. When you don’t have a layout, you just buy and pile stuff like a squirrel would do before winter. Just to find out most of the things you bought won’t fit on your setting… Except if you’re like Tomikawa and you know what you’re doing. In my case, since I’m a teenager, I know I will run a mining and logging railway, so I piled up a few things among others that a related to this theme…
When you dan’t do nothing, buying is always an artificial relief making you think you are doing a thing… You pointed out some very interesting behavior that apply to any kind of activities…
The only remedy is to keep yourself far from LHS or model railroading website… the viruse is very strong…